Sanitary mitt to prevent the spread of germs through vehicle hand grips and method of use thereof

ABSTRACT

A disposable sanitary mitt for use to grip a support structure on public transportation vehicles to prevent the spread of germs, having a pair of complimentary planar, plastic sheets which are sealed together along a portion of the periphery and unsealed along the remaining periphery, to define an opening having a thumb receiving portion and a separate finger receiving portion. The opening is accessible by the unsealed portion of the periphery to allow a wearer to insert a hand in the opening, with the wearer&#39;s thumb in the thumb receiving portion and the wearer&#39;s fingers in the finger receiving portion and grip the support structure on the public transportation vehicle with the sanitary mitt covering the wear&#39;s hand to maintain balance while the sanitary mitt resists the spread of germs.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims benefit from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/520,558, filed Jun. 13, 2011, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention is directed to a sanitary mitt for covering a wearer's hand to resist the spread of germs when gripping support structures or hand grips on public transportation vehicles.

2. Brief Description of the Prior Art

Many people utilize public transportation when traveling, such as buses, trains or subways. To assist riders in boarding and exiting the vehicle, as well as, to maintain balance while riding, the vehicles are provided with various types of support structures or hand grips such as rails, poles, handles, or straps, etc., which the rider can grasp.

However, human hands are common carriers for germs, viruses, bacteria or the like. These germs can be easily transferred from the rider's hands to the support structures and vice versa and cause various types of sicknesses. This problem is further compounded by the number of riders who utilize public transportation, increasing the spread of germs.

To avoid the spread of germs, a rider may carry antibacterial products to clean their hands before or after riding, or to wipe the hand grip. However, this may be ineffective in preventing the spread of germs. Therefore, it is desirable to protect the rider from the spread of germs while riding public transportation.

While the prior art discloses many types of hand coverings, so far as is known, none of these assemblies, resolve all of these problems in a simple, effective and highly advantageous manner, as in the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a novel sanitary mitt which resists the spread of germs from a wearer's hand to a hand grip and vice versa.

It is another object of the invention to provide a novel sanitary mitt assembly of a plurality of sanitary mitts which can be passed out to riders prior to boarding public transportation vehicles.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a novel assembly of a plurality of sanitary mitts joined together which can be dispensed, as needed.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a sanitary mitt with indicia thereon, such as company names, logos or other advertising or promotional materials.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a sanitary mitt which is simple, inexpensive, and easy to manufacture.

Certain of the foregoing and related objects are readily attained according to the present invention by the provision of a disposable sanitary mitt for use by a wearer to grip a support structure on public transportation vehicles to prevent the spread of germs, comprising a pair of complimentary planar, plastic sheets disposed in a superimposed relationship to one another and sealed together along a portion of the periphery thereof and unsealed along the remaining periphery thereof, to define an opening therebetween having a thumb receiving portion and a separate finger receiving portion, said opening accessible by the unsealed portion of the periphery which defines an open edge, to permit a wearer to insert a hand in said opening, via said open edge, with the wearer's thumb in said thumb receiving portion and the wearer's fingers in said finger receiving portion, and grip the support structure on the public transportation vehicle with said sanitary mitt covering the wearer's hand; and indicia provided on at least one of said planar, plastic sheets. Preferably, said indicia is a member selected from the group consisting of advertising and promotional material.

Certain of the foregoing and related objects are also attained according to the present invention by the provision of an assembly for dispensing sanitary mitts for use in gripping a support structure on public transportation vehicles to prevent the spread of germs, comprising a plurality of sanitary mitts arranged in a group, each comprising, a pair of complimentary planar, plastic sheets disposed in a superimposed relationship to one another and sealed together along a portion of the periphery thereof and unsealed along the remaining periphery thereof, to define an opening therebetween having a thumb receiving portion and a separate finger receiving portion, said opening accessible by the unsealed portion of the periphery which defines an open edge, to permit a wearer to insert a hand in said opening, via said open edge, with the wearer's thumb in said thumb receiving portion and the wearer's fingers in said finger receiving portion, and grip the support structure on the public transportation vehicle with said sanitary mitt covering the wearer's hand; and indicia provided on at least one of said planar, plastic sheets, wherein a sanitary mitt can be individually removed from said group thereof.

Here too, said indicia is preferably a member selected from the group consisting of advertising and promotional material. Advantageously, a dispenser encloses said plurality of mitts arranged in a group, wherein a sanitary mitt can be individually removed from said group thereof.

Most desirably, the assembly further comprises a plurality of upper strips, each of which is removably attached via perforations to each of said planar plastic sheets of said plurality of mitts along said unsealed portion of said periphery of said sanitary mitts and wherein said plurality of mitts are arranged in a superimposed relationship and said plurality of upper strips are connected together, and wherein a sanitary mitt can be individually removed from said group thereof by separating both of said plastic sheets of said sanitary mitt from said upper strips connected thereto. The plurality of upper strips are preferably connected together by heat sealing and in a preferred embodiment each of said plurality of upper strips define at least one opening therein having an outer peripheral edge and wherein said outer peripheral edges of said openings are heat sealed together.

Certain of the foregoing and related objects are also attained according to the present invention by the provision of a method of preventing the spread of germs on public transportation vehicles, comprising the steps of providing at least one disposable sanitary mitt for use by a wearer to grip a support structure on public transportation vehicles to prevent the spread of germs, comprising a pair of complimentary planar, plastic sheets disposed in a superimposed relationship to one another and sealed together along a portion of the periphery thereof and unsealed along the remaining periphery thereof, to define an opening therebetween having a thumb receiving portion and a separate finger receiving portion, said opening accessible by the unsealed portion of the periphery which defines an open edge, to permit a wearer to insert a hand in said opening, via said open edge, with the wearer's thumb in said thumb receiving portion and the wearer's fingers in said finger receiving portion, and grip the support structure on the public transportation vehicle with said sanitary mitt covering the wearer's hand; and indicia provided on at least one of said planar, plastic sheets; inserting the wearer's hand in said opening of said sanitary mitt, via said open edge, with the wearer's thumb in said thumb receiving portion and the wearer's fingers in said finger receiving portion, so that said sanitary mitt covers the wearer's hand; and gripping the support structure on the public transportation vehicle with said sanitary mitt covering the wearer's hand.

Preferably, said indicia is a member selected from the group consisting of advertising and promotional material and desirably, the method further comprises the steps of providing a plurality of sanitary mitts arranged in a group wherein a sanitary mitt can be individually removed from said group thereof; and removing a sanitary mitt from said plurality of sanitary mitts arranged in a group. Optionally, the method further comprises the step of providing a dispenser which encloses said plurality of mitts arranged in a group, wherein a sanitary mitt can be individually removed from said group thereof.

In a preferred embodiment, the method further comprises the steps of providing a plurality of upper strips, each of which is removably attached via perforations to each of said planar plastic sheets of said plurality of mitts along said unsealed portion of said periphery of said sanitary mitts and wherein said plurality of mitts are arranged in a superimposed relationship and said plurality of upper strips are connected together; and removing a sanitary mitt from said group thereof by separating both of said plastic sheets of said sanitary mitt from said upper strips connected thereto.

Preferably, said plurality of upper strips are connected together by heat sealing and, advantageously, each of said plurality of upper strips define at least one opening therein having an outer peripheral edge and said outer peripheral edges of said openings are heat sealed together.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The description of the invention which follows, together with the accompanying drawings should not be construed as limiting the invention to the example shown and described, because those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains will be able to devise other forms thereof.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a bus having hand grips for passengers to maintain their balance during operation of the bus, during the practice by the passengers of the within inventive sanitary mitt and method of use thereof, to prevent the spread of germs;

FIG. 2 is an isolated perspective view of a passenger as circumscribed by the arrow 2 of FIG. 1 utilizing the sanitary mitt of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a view of a container for enclosing a plurality of sanitary mitts accessible to the passenger of FIG. 2, as needed;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a sanitary mitt;

FIG. 5 is an isolated partial view of FIG. 2, illustrating the use of the sanitary mitt;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a plurality of sanitary mitts joined together in a group; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a sanitary mitt being removed from the group via perforations.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Turning now in detail to the drawings and in particular FIG. 1, which illustrates a moving vehicle 10, here a bus or, alternatively, for example, a train or an underground subway (not shown) which, due to the vehicle's 10 movement, noted by the arrow 12, requires that the boarded passengers, such as passenger 14, illustrated in FIG. 2, board and unboard vehicle 10 and maintain his/her balance while riding. In order to board or unboard vehicle 10 or to maintain balance while riding, vehicle 10 is provided with various support structures, such as, for example, hand grip 16, which passenger 14 can grasp, as in FIG. 2. While riding, as seen in FIG. 2, passenger 14 can grip hand grip 16 which is attached in depending relation in the interior passenger area 18 of the vehicle 10. However, vehicles 10 often times have alternative types of support or gripping structures, such as, rails, vertical or horizontal poles, handles, etc. (not shown).

Hand grip 16 or the other types of support structures in public transportation vehicles can harbor germs, viruses or the like due to repeated contact by many passengers 14. These germs can easily transfer to and from passenger 14 while gripping hand grip 16.

As seen in FIG. 2, the present invention is directed to a disposable sanitary mitt 22A, which can be worn over and cover a passenger's 14 hand 30, to protect and resist against the spread of germs, viruses, etc. to and from hand grip 16. As seen best in FIG. 4, sanitary mitt 22A is constructed from a pair of complimentary planar, plastic sheets 40 which are arranged in a superimposed relationship to one another and sealed together along a portion of the periphery 44, to form a mitt-like configuration. Preferably, sheets 40 are made of high density polyethylene, however other suitable materials, can be utilized. Sheets 40 are unsealed along the remaining portion of the periphery 44 to define an open edge 42 which provides access to an opening defined between sheets 40 to permit passenger 14 to insert a hand 30 into sanitary mitt 22A.

As seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, sanitary mitt 22A is sealed along a portion of its periphery 44 to define an opening therebetween, having a thumb-receiving portion 36 and a finger-receiving portion 38. As seen in FIG. 5, passenger 14 can insert hand 30 into the opening formed between sheets 40 via open end 42 with the wearer's thumb in the thumb-receiving portion 36 and the remaining fingers in the finger-receiving portion 38. The thumb-receiving portion 36 and finger-receiving portion 38 allows passenger 14 to grip the gripping site 32 of the hand grip 16.

In use, as seen in FIG. 5, passenger 14, positions sanitary mitt 22A over and covering their hand 30, with one of plastic sheets 40 in an interposed position as noted by arrow 28, between his/her hand 30 and the gripping site 32 of the hand grip 16. As a result of passenger 14 wearing sanitary mitt 22A, passenger 14 is able to maintain balance while boarding/unboarding or riding on the vehicle 10, by gripping the hand grip 16 using sanitary mitt 22A, while sanitary mitt 22A resists the spread of germs to and from handgrip 16 to the passenger's 14 hand 30.

Furthermore, as seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, sanitary mitt 22A can have indicia 34 thereon, such as for example, advertising, company names or logos, decorative indicia or other advertising or promotional indicia. Any type of indicia can be imprinted or placed on mitts 22A and the exact nature of the indicia can vary. In particular, indicia 34 can be placed on one or both of sheets 40 of the sanitary mitt 22A. For example, advertising can be purchased by an advertiser and placed on either or both of sheets 40 of the mitt 22A, to be seen by the wearer or the other riders. Due to the number of riders utilizing public transportation, indicia 34 can be displayed to a large number of passengers 14.

Additionally, a plurality of mitts 22A arranged in a group can be provided and passed out or made available to riders or carried on a rider and dispensed as needed. In particular, in practice, for example, designated employees can distribute mitts 22A on the street level of a subway entrance and/or bus station for free to riders. Alternatively, mitts 22A can be arranged within a dispenser (not shown) located inside subway stations and bus stations and each passenger 14 can select a mitt 22A prior to boarding.

As another alternative, a rider can purchase for their own use, a factory packaged packet 20, as seen in FIG. 3, and mitts 22A can be dispensed individually, as needed. In the factory-packaged packet 20 of sanitary mitts, as seen in FIG. 3, the mitts are individually and collectively designated 22, and can be interleaved together, as noted by arrow 24, to facilitate an individual sanitary mitt 22A to be removed from the group, as noted by arrow 26.

It is also preferable to have means for connecting a plurality of mitts 22A together in the group and dispensed as needed. For example, mitts 22A can be connected together by perforations (not shown) and each mitt 22A separated as needed. Furthermore, as seen in FIG. 6, mitts 22A can include two upper strips 50 which are attached via perforations 52 to each of plastic sheets 40 along the unsealed portion of the periphery 44. The sanitary mitts 22A can be arranged in a superimposed relationship and connected together by joining the upper strips 50 on a plurality of sanitary mitts 22A together, such as by heat sealing a portion thereof. However, other means to connect a plurality of sanitary mitts 22A in a group are possible. As also seen in FIG. 6, upper strip 50 can include holes 54 formed therein to allow the plurality of mitts 22A to be hung such as by a hook (not shown). It is preferable that the periphery of the holes 54 are heat sealed together, to join a plurality of mitts 22A in a group. In use, a sanitary mitt 22A can be individually removed and separated from the plurality of mitts via the perforations 54 on each of planar plastic sheets 40 of a sanitary mitt 22A.

While particular embodiments of the invention have been described, it is not intended that the invention be limited thereto, as it is intended that the invention be as broad in scope as the prior art will allow and that the specification be read likewise. It will therefore be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other modifications could be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Although the present invention is particularly useful in connection with a subway, it can be utilized in any type of moving vehicle or mass transit vehicle. While sanitary mitts 22A are shown and described having a mitt-like configuration with a thumb-receiving portion and a finger-receiving portion, it can alternatively be in other configurations such as, a single opening for receiving the thumb and fingers or a glove, but is not limited to such alternative examples. 

1. A disposable sanitary mitt for use by a wearer to grip a support structure on public transportation vehicles to prevent the spread of germs, comprising: a pair of complimentary planar, plastic sheets disposed in a superimposed relationship to one another and sealed together along a portion of the periphery thereof and unsealed along the remaining periphery thereof, to define an opening therebetween having a thumb receiving portion and a separate finger receiving portion, said opening accessible by the unsealed portion of the periphery which defines an open edge, to permit a wearer to insert a hand in said opening, via said open edge, with the wearer's thumb in said thumb receiving portion and the wearer's fingers in said finger receiving portion, and grip the support structure on the public transportation vehicle with said sanitary mitt covering the wearer's hand; and indicia provided on at least one of said planar, plastic sheets.
 2. The mitt according to claim 1, wherein: said indicia is a member selected from the group consisting of advertising and promotional material.
 3. An assembly for dispensing sanitary mitts for use in gripping a support structure on public transportation vehicles to prevent the spread of germs, comprising: a plurality of sanitary mitts arranged in a group, each comprising, a pair of complimentary planar, plastic sheets disposed in a superimposed relationship to one another and sealed together along a portion of the periphery thereof and unsealed along the remaining periphery thereof, to define an opening therebetween having a thumb receiving portion and a separate finger receiving portion, said opening accessible by the unsealed portion of the periphery which defines an open edge, to permit a wearer to insert a hand in said opening, via said open edge, with the wearer's thumb in said thumb receiving portion and the wearer's fingers in said finger receiving portion, and grip the support structure on the public transportation vehicle with said sanitary mitt covering the wearer's hand; and indicia provided on at least one of said planar, plastic sheets, wherein a sanitary mitt can be individually removed from said group thereof.
 4. The assembly according to claim 3, wherein: said indicia is a member selected from the group consisting of advertising and promotional material.
 5. The assembly according to claim 3, further comprising: a dispenser which encloses said plurality of mitts arranged in a group, wherein a sanitary mitt can be individually removed from said group thereof.
 6. The assembly according to claim 3, further comprising: a plurality of upper strips, each of which is removably attached via perforations to each of said planar plastic sheets of said plurality of mitts along said unsealed portion of said periphery of said sanitary mitts and wherein said plurality of mitts are arranged in a superimposed relationship and said plurality of upper strips are connected together, and wherein a sanitary mitt can be individually removed from said group thereof by separating both of said plastic sheets of said sanitary mitt from said upper strips connected thereto.
 7. The assembly according to claim 6, wherein: said plurality of upper strips are connected together by heat sealing.
 8. The assembly according to claim 6, wherein: each of said plurality of upper strips define at least one opening therein having an outer peripheral edge and wherein said outer peripheral edges of said openings are heat sealed together.
 9. A method of preventing the spread of germs on public transportation vehicles, comprising the steps of: providing at least one disposable sanitary mitt for use by a wearer to grip a support structure on public transportation vehicles to prevent the spread of germs, comprising a pair of complimentary planar, plastic sheets disposed in a superimposed relationship to one another and sealed together along a portion of the periphery thereof and unsealed along the remaining periphery thereof, to define an opening therebetween having a thumb receiving portion and a separate finger receiving portion, said opening accessible by the unsealed portion of the periphery which defines an open edge, to permit a wearer to insert a hand in said opening, via said open edge, with the wearer's thumb in said thumb receiving portion and the wearer's fingers in said finger receiving portion, and grip the support structure on the public transportation vehicle with said sanitary mitt covering the wearer's hand; and indicia provided on at least one of said planar, plastic sheets; inserting the wearer's hand in said opening of said sanitary mitt, via said open edge, with the wearer's thumb in said thumb receiving portion and the wearer's fingers in said finger receiving portion, so that said sanitary mitt covers the wearer's hand; and gripping the support structure on the public transportation vehicle with said sanitary mitt covering the wearer's hand.
 10. The method according to claim 9, wherein: said indicia is a member selected from the group consisting of advertising and promotional material.
 11. The method according to claim 9, further comprising the steps of: providing a plurality of sanitary mitts arranged in a group wherein a sanitary mitt can be individually removed from said group thereof; and removing a sanitary mitt from said plurality of sanitary mitts arranged in a group.
 12. The method according to claim 9, further comprising the step of: providing a dispenser which encloses said plurality of mitts arranged in a group, wherein a sanitary mitt can be individually removed from said group thereof.
 13. The method according to claim 9, further comprising the steps of: providing a plurality of upper strips, each of which is removably attached via perforations to each of said planar plastic sheets of said plurality of mitts along said unsealed portion of said periphery of said sanitary mitts and wherein said plurality of mitts are arranged in a superimposed relationship and said plurality of upper strips are connected together; and removing a sanitary mitt from said group thereof by separating both of said plastic sheets of said sanitary mitt from said upper strips connected thereto.
 14. The method according to claim 13, wherein: said plurality of upper strips are connected together by heat sealing.
 15. The method according to claim 13, wherein: each of said plurality of upper strips define at least one opening therein having an outer peripheral edge and wherein said outer peripheral edges of said openings are heat sealed together. 